Probes for the study of icy and subglacial environment of planets

Abstract

The article proposes a technology for increasing the thermic ice drilling rate under the influence of hydraulic force generated by the probe (or cryobot), which increases the coefficient of conversion of thermal energy into the energy of ice melting and allows increasing the power of thermal head of the probe. A single-wire Tesla system is proposed to use for the probe power supply, which makes it possible to reduce the volume of the cable and losses of transmitted energy. The method of the probe self-lifting to the ice surface without using the hydraulic force (traction), i.e. without a load on the cable, is proposed. To study thick (up to 5 km) ice sheets and subglacial water environments on the Earth, as well as the ice cover (up to 30 km thick) and the subglacial ocean of the Europe (the Jupiter’s satellite), conceptual principal designs of the probe (or cryobot) have been developed on the basis of thermic-hydraulic drilling (THD). Implementation of the THD‑cryobot designs will allow organizing systemic studies of glaciers and subglacial water environments on the Earth and other planets, not disturbing their ice isolation with multiple savings of financial and technical means, energy and time.

Experimental research on the thermal method of drilling by melting the well in ice mass with simultaneous controlled expansion of its diameter

“…The crown is made of aluminum in laboratory of LGGE (France) and was used in TBZS-132 tool when drilling deep wells in Antarctic [3,11]. Circular electric heating elements 18, which are tubular electric heaters (TEHs), are rigidly fixed inside the crown [33,34]. Penetrator 17 of cylindrical shape with rounded lower part is made of high heat conductivity metal -aluminum [35], inside it there is a collector 19 with diameter equal to external diameter of water injection tube 20 and with depth 50 mm for tight fitting.…”